Charles Kennedy, OilPrice.com | August 15th, 2022The largest shale basin in the United States, the Permian, is on track to hit a record 5.408 million barrels per day next month, with production set to rise by 79,000 bpd, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In its latest drilling productivity report released on Monday, the EIA said total output among all the big shale basins in the country would increase to 9.049 million bpd in September, representing a 141,000-bpd boost in production. 

American shale has not seen this level of activity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to the EIA, the biggest increases in production outside of the Permian basin will be seen in Texas’ Eagle Ford, where production is expected to increase to 1.230 million bpd next month, representing a jump of 26,000 bpd. 

Eagle Ford is followed by the Bakken, which straddles North Dakota and Montana, with a projected increase of 21,000 bpd.

Natural gas production is also on track to increase to a record of nearly 94 billion cubic feet per day in September. 

The Permian continues to outperform. 

A lineup of pipeline contractors and developers have recently announced five natural gas pipeline projects that would increase the basin’s takeaway capacity by 4.18 billion cubic feet per day in total over the next two years, assuming completion remains on schedule. 

While the Baker Hughes rig count from last Friday shows that the total active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 1 for the week, to 763, that figure nonetheless is 262 rigs higher than this time in 2021.  

In its most recent short-term energy outlook, the EIA forecasted an 800,000 boepd rise in U.S. production by the end of next year.